5 Regional Food Places You Miss When You Leave Maryland

By Eva Niessner

Sadly but truly, sometimes circumstances take you out of the land that you love -- Maryland. Maybe you move to be with the one you love, or maybe you move for an exciting new job opportunity -- or maybe you're just looking to shake things up. Whatever the cause may be, the fact remains that one day, you'll realize just how much you miss the foods you love from Maryland. Stuff you can get in a matter of minutes, stuff that's the perfect bite to eat after a night out with friends. Stuff like...

When pizza night comes along, nobody's going to turn down this primarily MD-based chain! Ledo is also available in Virginia and DC, but for the most part, we've got this one to ourselves. The square shape makes you think of how excited you were for pizza lunch back in elementary school, but trust us -- this is NOT gross, public school cafeteria fare. These pizzas are worth flying home for. (And of course you can get other dishes, like subs, salads and appetizers, too!)

If it's good enough for Joe Flacco, it's good enough for us! This pizza chain is another favorite of Marylanders, and the Ravens are clearly no exception. You can get it in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, too, but nowhere else -- so if you're planning on moving any further than that, you might want to stock up on your favorites. Season's offers pasta, wraps, chicken nuggets and desserts as well as a variety of pizza toppings. (And if you stop by a Baltimore-adjacent location, you might run into Flacco himself!)

There's a reason that this gas and fast food retailer has such a cult following. Those hoagies are no joke! Lucky for you, you can enjoy a Wawa hoagie if you're in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia or Florida, if you happen to be leaving Maryland for one of those places. And it's not just sandwiches that this place does right. Enjoy breakfast options, coffee and pretty much any bagged snack (Utz chips, anyone?) you can think of.

If Wawa isn't your speed, it might be because you're a Sheetz fan! It has almost the exact same model as Wawa -- offering gas, quick snacks and hot made-to-order meals like sandwiches and coffee creations. Start your morning off with a shmuffin or a shmagel (breakfast sandwiches and bagels), or top off a night on the town with a milkshake or a smoothie. If you're leaving Maryland, don't worry -- you can get all the Sheetz goodness in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina, too.

There's no way to top off your Baltimore experience quite like grabbing some of that tasty Royal Farms chicken! Of course, the franchise serves other things -- subs, burgers, hot dogs and milkshakes -- but seriously, who isn't drawn into their nearest Royal Farms location by that delicious chicken smell? If you must bid Maryland farewell for awhile, know at least that you can have a taste of home in Delaware, Virginia and Pennsylvania, since there are RoFo locations in all three of those states, too.

Photo via royalfarms.com

What's your favorite regional place to eat? What do you miss when you're out of Maryland? Let us know in the comments!